Taiwan issue spurs China to build up missile forces

The Washington Times ^ | 5/24/2010 | The Washington Times

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

China's rapid development of ballistic and cruise missile forces is altering the balance of power in Asia and threatens U.S. forces in a conflict over Taiwan and beyond, according to a forthcoming report.

"Driven in large measure by a Taiwan scenario, China's capacity to conduct a successful aerospace campaign to quickly gain a decisive advantage in the air is growing faster than the defenses that its neighbors, including Taiwan, Japan, perhaps India, and even U.S. forces operating in the Western Pacific, can field," stated the report by the Project 2049 Institute, a private research institute, that highlighted "significant advances" in Chinese air and missile power.

China's long range precision-strike weapons, such as sophisticated conventional ballistic and ground-launched cruise missiles, are "altering the strategic landscape," the report said.

"Due to their speed, precision, and difficulties in fielding viable defenses, these systems — if deployed in sufficient numbers — have the potential to provide the PRC with a decisive military edge in the event of conflict over territorial or sovereignty claims," the report said.

The missiles are also leading other regional militaries to develop similar weapons, the report said.

"China's missile-based strategy has the potential to start an arms race in long range precision strike capabilities, if it hasn't already," Mr. Stokes said in an e-mail.

[the_daug]

Wouldn’t matter if the had Taiwan they still would be building their defense industry